What did you miss? For a review of the last episode, click HERE

Obi-Wan Kenobi S1 Ep 2

from Showsnob: https://showsnob.com/2022/05/31/obi-wan-kenobi-season-1-episode-2-recap/

by Colin Gaughan


The second episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi season 1 starts with the titular Jedi tracking down the young Princess Leia’s kidnappers on the planet of Daiyu. The city is filled with so much crime and gambling that when he asks where he could find Leia, who he alleges is his daughter, he is told nobody leaves Daiyu.

Obi-Wan Kenobi season 1 episode 2: Searching for the Princess

Once a peddler tells Obi-Wan about a supposed Jedi helping people, he investigates to find Haja Estree (Kumail Nanjiani). Unfortunately, he is pretending to be a Jedi to con folks in need out of their credits.

Obi-Wan uses Haja’s street smarts to locate the true underbelly of the city so he can rescue Leia. While infiltrating and sneaking into an illegal drug operation, Obi-Wan is trapped but narrowly escapes Leia’s kidnappers by using the criminals’ own illicit drugs.

He finally finds Leia and instructs her multiple times to listen to him, so he can protect them. The Third Sister finds her mercenaries after they let Kenobi and Organa escape which only makes the Sith foot soldier even angrier.

When she is confronted by the Grand Inquisitor, he explains that she is not suitable to make big decisions like these because she is the “least of [them].” This only leads to the Third Sister doubling down and putting a bounty on Kenobi.

Obi-Wan Kenobi season 1 episode 2: Running through the city

While trying to keep the young princess in check, Obi-Wan fends off the bounty hunters that the Third Sister put out. In the process, he learns Leia is wiser beyond her ten years of age.

However, the trust that was building between Obi-Wan and Leia quickly diminishes when she sees the bounty put out on her “savior”. She blames him for her kidnapping while dismissing every piece of info Obi-Wan told her.

Leia tries to flee from Obi-Wan’s protection which only leads to the Jedi making scenes throughout the city and attracting more bounty hunters. A rooftop chase commences with Obi-Wan chasing Leia, while the bounty hunters with the Third Sister chase him.

When they are cornered, Leia makes a jump which compels Obi-Wan to finally use the Force to save her. He’s able to have her float like she wanted to do earlier.

This leads to Haja Estree seeing Kenobi and lending his assistance. He tells Kenobi to use a cargo port since it is all robotically automated.

Obi-Wan Kenobi season 1 episode 2: Some shocking news is shared

Up at the port, Obi-Wan notices some of Leia’s mother in the young child before the Third Sister, who the Grand Inquisitor called Reva, locates them. As Obi-Wan is hiding, Reva explains that she is not the only one looking for Obi-Wan because Lord Vader is as well.

At this moment, Obi-Wan’s demons and failures cloud his mind knowing that Anakin is still alive.

The Grand Inquisitor arrives at the port to stop the Third Sister. However, because he verbally tormented her earlier, Reva is done allowing her mission to be compromised anymore.

She, without hesitation, kills the Grand Inquisitor. In doing this, it allows Obi-Wan and Leia to escape the Empire’s wrath, but just barely.

This escape is not all a celebration because Obi-Wan knows he might cross paths with his former Padawan turned Sith Lord, Darth Vader.

Stranger Things S4 Ep 2

What did you miss? For a review of the last episode, click HERE

Stranger Things S4 Ep 2

from Collider: https://collider.com/stranger-things-season-4-episode-2-recap-vecnas-curse/

by RAE TORRES

PUBLISHED MAY 28, 2022


Does Hawkins have its very own Michael Myers? We suspect there is more to this story.
Image via Netflix

In the second chapter of Stranger Things Season 4, the Duffer Brothers bring us another shiver-inducing episode that will fuel our nightmares for weeks to come. "Chapter Two: Vecna's Curse" finds Vecna snatching up another poor unfortunate soul, El getting her revenge on Angela, and finally, answers the question we've all been waiting for: what happened to Hopper (David Harbour)?

The episode opens with a flashback to the crucial final moments we last saw Hopper in the Season 3 finale. After Hop sacrifices himself to destroy the gate, the platform starts to explode and becomes engulfed in flames, just like we saw in the finale. But then the episode shows us what we didn't see (and no, Hop didn't get trapped in the Upside Down, which admittedly would have been a lot cooler). Instead, Hopper simply jumps down onto a lower platform. He manages to climb through the smoke and wreckage and up the ladder, only to be blocked by the Russians who are waiting at the top, guns pointed at him. He is taken to Russia where he is ruthlessly tortured for information. When he doesn't give up Joyce's (Winona Ryder) identity, even though he is just barely surviving, the Russians send him to Kamchatka to work for the Motherland. But this is certainly not an act of mercy: Kamchatka, the guard says, is Hell.

Back in Hawkins, Max (Sadie Sink) jerks awake from a nightmare. As she is standing at the sink, again taking more medicine for yet another headache, she watches a bunch of cop cars speed into the trailer park and stop outside Eddie's (Joseph Quinn) trailer. Outside, Officers Phil Callahan (John Paul Reynolds) and Calvin Powell (Rob Morgan) talk to Wayne Munson (Joel Stoffer), Eddie's uncle, who is visibly shaken. The cops walk into the trailer, and they are horrified, clearly at a loss at what they are seeing. Max is able to sneak outside and get a quick glimpse inside, where she sees Chrissy's corpse (Grace Van Dien), her limbs twisted.

In California, Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), Argyle (Eduardo Franco), El (Millie Bobby Brown), and Will (Noah Schnapp), wait for Mike (Finn Wolfhard) at the airport. Will is holding a rolled-up painting he is clearly going to give Mike. They jump up in excitement when they see him, and Mike gives El flowers he handpicked from Hawkins. El is excited, but her face falls slightly when she looks at the card, which is signed "FROM MIKE," noticeably not "LOVE." Mike and Will have an awkward reunion and Will, looking disappointed, doesn't give Mike the painting. El excitedly tells Mike she has their whole day planned while Will walks next to them, clearly left out. He looks at El in confusion when Mike asks El when he is going to meet her friends, Stacy and Angela. El brushes it off quickly and says he will meet them eventually.

As they exit the airport, we see Murray (Brett Gelman) hopping into a cab on his way to meet Joyce and figure out what the hell is up with that shady letter from Russia. When he gets to the Byers residence, he reads the full message: "Hop is alive. He look ford to date. Pleeze to make resarvazion, call 74152 blah, blah. . . Open 12 day P.E.T.T. No government, pls. Kind regards, Enzo." Murray says it reads and looks too much like a ransom note and he doesn't trust it, especially because there's no proof that Hopper is alive in the note. Joyce says that only she and Hopper knew about their Enzo date, so it must be Hop sending her a message. Joyce, never one to be deterred, points out that there was no body. (Cardinal rule: we all saw that from a mile away when that episode aired.) Murray counters with a more likely theory that if he miraculously survived, he was probably captured by the KGB who tortured information out of him – including their date at Enzos – and this is all just an elaborate ruse to capture Joyce as Hop's co-conspirator. Joyce convinces him to give it a shot, and he begrudgingly agrees to call the number. In Russia, a payphone rings and we see a man – Enzo (Tom Wlaschiha) – answer. He says if they want to get Hopper back, they have to go to Alaska and make a deposit of 40,000, which he knows is in Hopper's trust. In Alaska, they will meet with a man named Yuri and give him the money, which he will then in turn give to Enzo. While he is talking, a woman outside the phone booth bangs on the door and yells something at him in Russian. Joyce says that if he wants her to go to Alaska, she needs to speak to Hop to confirm he is alive. Yuri informs her that isn't possible because Hopper is "stuck," but if she brings the 40,000, he will be "unstuck."

Murray and Joyce listen to their recording of the phone call in an attempt to figure out who Enzo is. They are able to raise the volume of the woman speaking in the background to Enzo using Jonathan's sound system. Murray translates that the woman called him a "mooser," which is Russian slang for "pig" and is usually directed at cops or guards in Russia. Joyce and Murray realize that Hop must be "stuck" in prison and maybe bribed Enzo to break him out. Joyce tells Murray to pack because they are going to Alaska to get Hopper back.

Meanwhile, Jonathan and Argyle drop Mike, Will, and El off at Rink-o-Mania where a miserable Will is forced to play the third wheel all afternoon. El lies to Mike and says she goes to parties here at the skating rink all the time. Will confronts her when he and El get a minute alone and tells her Mike doesn't deserve to be lied to, and he's going to be upset when he finds out. Unfortunately for El, it looks like her lies are about to unravel, because Angela (Elodie Grace Orkin) and her pack of high school hyenas show up at the rink. They are delighted to see El, or "the snitch" as they're now calling her, obviously jumping at the opportunity to humiliate her in front of her boyfriend. They go over to El's table to introduce themselves, and Mike tells her it's nice to finally get to meet one of El's friends. Angela puts on her fakest smile and tugs El out of the booth to come skate with her. Will looks on nervously as Angela pulls El along the rink and a circle slowly forms, leaving El in the center. One of Angela's friends is holding up a giant video camera when one of the DJs announces that the next song is dedicated to Jane. Will hurriedly explains to Mike in a panic that El has been lying to him and that she has actually been having a hard time in California. "Wipeout" starts to play as all the kids start rolling up to El and call her a "freak" and a "loser" as they mockingly stretch their hands out like El did earlier when she instinctively reached for her powers. El starts to cover her ears and cry while Mike races to the DJ and demands they turn it off. Just as the record comes to a screeching halt, one of Angela's lackeys rolls up to El and throws a chocolate milkshake at her, causing her to slip on her skates and fall backward. Mike calls out to El and tries to break through the crowd while El makes an escape from the rink.

While Mike is looking for El, he asks why Will has been moping all day, and Will tells him with frustration that El has been lying to him ever since he got there. Not to mention, he's been a third wheel all day. Will calls Mike out for only calling him a handful of times over the course of the year they've been gone, while El has a book of letters from him. Will says they are supposed to be best friends, and Mike shrugs him off, annoyed, and asks why Will didn't reach out more and why it has to be all his fault.

El decides to confront Angela and demand an apology. Angela, of course, laughs and smiles like the Cheshire cat and mockingly tells her, "Cry to your Daddy," but "Oh wait! You can't." As she turns away El screams her name, but this time, instead of trying and failing to use her powers, she does the next best thing her instincts think of. She grabs a roller skate and smashes it in Angela's face. Angela is stunned as blood starts pouring down her face, and she starts screaming. It dawns on El what she has done as she watches everyone race over to Angela. Mike looks at El and echoes Dr. Brenner when he asks, "What did you do?!" (If anything, Angela got off easy. That skate was plastic. Imagine what El could do to her if she had her powers.)

Jonathan and Argyle, meanwhile, are hitting golf balls at an abandoned junkyard while the kids are at the rink. Jonathan admits he secretly hoped Nancy would surprise him at the airport, but he also felt relief when she wasn't there. He shows Argyle his acceptance letter to Lenora Community College and confides in him that he is not going to Emerson because he doesn't want to leave his mom and brother to go chase a dream that isn't his. If he told Nancy the truth, she'd throw her dreams out the window to be with him instead, and eventually, she'd grow to resent him.

In Hawkins, everyone is watching the news where there are reports of an unnamed teenage girl who has just been found murdered. The cops question Jason (Mason Dye) about Chrissy's whereabouts last night: was she partying with them after the game? Did she purchase drugs to bring to the party? What is her relationship with Eddie Munson? Jason is stunned and terrified and tells them Chrissy said she was going home after the game to change. He insists that she would never do drugs and has nothing to do with a freak like Eddie. He storms into the woods and falls to his knees as he begins to sob and lets out a guttural scream. Later, he tells his boys that Eddie is a satanist who must have sacrificed Chrissy to the devil. He claims that Hellfire is a satanic cult. When Lucas tentatively tells him it is just a D&D club, Jason insists that there is an epidemic sweeping the country where people who play D&D are warping fantasy and reality and killing people. Convinced Eddie is going to kill again, Jason gives another one of his stupid motivational speeches where he rallies his teammates to hunt "the freak," Eddie Munson.

Max confides in Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) that she saw Eddie with Chrissy last night. Dustin asks why she hadn't told the cops, and she admits that it wasn't the only thing she saw. While sitting on the couch watching TV, her power started to flicker in and out – uncomfortably familiar to the Hawkins kids at this point – when she heard Eddie scream and saw him run to his van. Max asks Dustin if it could be possible that the Upside Down is interfering with Hawkins yet again (they really need to get a grip on this whole gate situation). They team up with Steve (Joe Keery) and Robin (Maya Hawke) at the video store where they fill them in on what they know. They manage to track Eddie down at his Reefer Rick's (his drug dealer) house. After Eddie relays the horrific events of the night prior, he is wary when Dustin tells him they believe him. Dustin decides it is time to fill him in on the Upside Down. He asks Eddie if he saw anything that looked like swirling dust. Eddie says no, but it seemed like Chrissy was under a spell. It dawns on both Dustin and Eddie at the same time: Vecna's curse. Vecna is, as Dustin explains, "an undead creature of great power. A spell caster. A dark wizard." As Dustin is explaining, we see Vecna connected to what looks like eight vines, as if he is charging. He slowly kneels and opens his eyes. The camera zooms out, and we see he is holed up in some terrifying-looking house in the Upside Down.

Meanwhile, Nancy and Fred convince the cops patrolling the trailer park to let them in to "check in" on their good friend Max, when really they are there to get the scoop. As they are trying to fool the cop, he suddenly looks at Fred strangely and says he knows him — Fred was the one who killed that kid last year in a car crash. Fred looks petrified as suddenly the cop's voice starts to grow distorted (nice knowing you, Fred) and his eyes turn white as his skin starts to rot. He begins to chant "murderer" repeatedly to a horrified Fred. Suddenly, everything snaps back to normal, and Nancy and the cop are looking at him strangely.

Nancy manages to talk to Eddie's uncle and convince him to tell her his side of the story. Wayne says that Eddie may look dangerous, but it just isn't in his nature to do something like this. Wayne believes that a man named Victor Creel killed Chrissy. Back when Wayne was a kid, Victor Creel lost his mind and killed his wife and kids and took out their eyes. Wayne thinks that Victor Creel somehow broke out of Pennhurst Asylum and killed Chrissy just like he did with his family.

As Nancy talks to Wayne, Fred starts to hear the dreaded sound of the chiming clock. He walks into the woods where he sees the clock lying on the ground and a group of people all dressed in black, standing eerily still with their heads down. A little girl slowly lifts her head and points at Fred, her outstretched hand morphing into what looks like Vecna's creepy claw-like hand. The rest of the people slowly lift their heads, their faces looking like straight-up walkers from The Walking Dead, and start to chant, "Murderer!"

Nancy suddenly realizes Fred is not where she left him by the fence. Panicked when she can't find him, she tells the cop on patrol. We see Fred running terrified through the woods, ending up on the road, dark, with no cars around except for one. Fred approaches the car slowly, a look of terror on his face. The car is upside down and consumed with flames. He sees a boy crawl out of the car, bloody, desperately calling out for help. Fred falls backward into a grave where he turns to see a rotting corpse next to him. Then (here it comes), he hears his name. Vecna slowly walks through a tunnel leading into the grave and tells Fred he wants him to join him. He stretches out his claw-like hand as Fred floats up in the air on the road. Fred's bones begin to snap, and his eyes pop out as he suffers the same horrific fate as Chrissy — and the episode comes to another horrifying conclusion.

The Offer S1 Ep 5: Kiss The Ring

What did you miss? For a review of the last episode, click HERE

The Offer S1 Ep 5: Kiss The Ring

from Ready Steady Cut: https://readysteadycut.com/2022/05/12/the-offer-season-1-episode-5-recap-kiss-the-ring/

May 12, 2022

Ricky Valero

After having our first great episode of the series, I hope The Offer continues its upward trend with this week’s episode. First, we see that Albert realizes he is in deep with Joe Colombo. Next, Francis finally gets what he wants with Marlon Brando, but Al Pacino takes another deal and can’t be his Michael. Last, Joe Gallo is about ready to take down Colombo for good. What happens this week? Let’s dive in.

The Offer season 1, episode 5 recap

The show opens with a pair of Colombo’s henchmen traveling down the road with some of the supplies. When a car is in the middle of the road, one of them jumps out to see what is going on and we say hello to Mr. Gallo and his crew. Boom, shotgun to the chest — down goes one of the guys and Gallo lets the other go as he knows Colombo will get the message.

Albert shows up at Robert’s front door and needs help. Robert is furious after Albert has gone behind his back twice. He wants Robert to get Pacino out of the deal with MGM, which Robert, who never wanted Pacino to begin with, basically tells Albert to pound sand. Man, I love the dynamic between these two characters.

Barry Lapidus is pitching Paramount and the companies to buyers as we know that Charles is trying to sell the company. Next, we move to Francis getting the news that Pacino is out and he proceeds to freak out. After this, we see Robert sitting down with his girlfriend to watch Pacino on tape and she LOVES him.

Albert arrives at work, and Bettye shows him the newspaper where the man Gallo took out is front-page news. She expressed she is scared. Jack Ballard is in Albert’s office with the film editor, and we see Jack already asserting himself, which isn’t making Albert happy.

Robert meets with the head of MGM to swap Deniro for Pacino. Unfortunately, negotiations aren’t going how Robert wants them to and he has to sacrifice Harrold Robbins’s books to sweeten the deal. Robert is internally freaking out because he doesn’t even want Pacino. Nevertheless, the agreement happens and we know that Albert will hear all about this.

The congressman is giving the production team a hard time as they pulled the permits for where they were supposed to build the set. Bettye attempts to get the guy on the phone, but they fire him because he gave them the permits. We know that Albert’s only option may be to pay a visit to Colombo. Speaking of Colombo, as he talks with the boys about what happened, an FBI raid happens. As the agent walks out the door, he tells Colombo the congressman sends his best. Colombo is FURIOUS.


You are still a Putz, but I got Pacino – Robert.

Albert shows up to tell Francis that he got Pacino and is on cloud nine. We also see that Albert is all dressed up in a suit, where he tells Francis he has to see a guy about a thing. Of course, we all know what that means! Time to pay a visit to Colombo. As he walks in, photos are taken, which I believe will come back to haunt Albert. Finally, he shows up to pay his respects to Colombo for the loss of his friend.

Nobody should be invited to a funeral and everyone should come. – Albert

Colombo meets with the congressman to clear the air on everything. He wants the Feds off his back and the production doors to be open for The Godfather (we don’t see him say that, but we know). Congressman plays ball with him, but I am unsure of what his play is here, but I am intrigued.

We see a production meeting with Albert, Francis, and the crew. The talk isn’t going well because all Albert hears is dollar signs when anyone talks and he knows he is against the budget already. Lots of back and forth is happening at the table and Francis is ready to throw people off the deep end. Jack says they are $2 million over the budget and need to make cuts NOW. Francis let Albert know they can’t make the movie for $4 million. Albert is freaking out because he has cashed all the favors with Robert. Does he go to Colombo? We shall see.

I am going to make you an offer, take it or leave it. – Charles

Albert and Francis show up to talk to Charles for more money. Charles calls them out and says they said they could make it for the $4.5 million. A few back and forth moments lead to Charles telling them they can get $6 million if they put up their fees against any overages. Francis says yes without any hesitations. Deal done. Next, the boys meet with the Corleone family (Cast and Crew) for dinner.

The ending of “Kiss The Ring”

During this dinner, Francis (and us, the viewer) gets a taste of what we can expect from these cast members to film The Godfather. We have a moment where Brando, obviously in character, makes a toast and Francis is in ALL OF HIS GLORY.

As Bettye combed through the budget, she realized they had a couple of mafia members on the take and all had the same social security number. Caesar is the man in charge and Albert wants to meet with him to get things straight. Caesar makes it known that he knows where to go if he has any issues. Bettye lets him know that the FBI agents arrive to speak to Albert. (I told you that showing up to the wake would haunt him). They offer to set him up with a wire for protection, and he turns them down.

Barry calls to tell Robert that he was right about Love Story. It freaks him out because Barry is never right, and he now believes the sale rumors could be true now. Charles and Bettye are sitting down for dinner. He offers her a job to work for him. She puts two and two together about Charles selling off Paramount and calls Albert. We transition to Robert, who is freaking out that Charles is selling his baby.

Colombo calls Albert and says he doesn’t talk business over the phone to come to see him now. Before he leaves, Albert talks to Francis about the production of The Godfather starting tomorrow. The duo has a reminiscent moment about how no one believed in them. Colombo is on the stage in front of the Italian American League, throwing his support behind the congressman. He sees Albert in the audience and he announces that they made a deal to let them make The Godfather and follows that they will donate all the proceeds from the premiere to the league’s hospital fund.

We have an incredible end of this episode where we see Colombo set Albert up in front of an audience to announce their partnership. He brings him onto the stage and a million questions are being asked while Albert stares with confusion and defeat at the hands of Joe Colombo.

Westworld S4 Ep 2: Well Enough Alone

What did you miss? For a review of the last episode, click HERE

Westworld S4 Ep 2: Well Enough Alone

from ew: https://ew.com/tv/recaps/westworld-season-4-episode-2/

By Andrew Walsh

July 03, 2022 at 10:01 PM EDT

This week's chapter, "Well Enough Alone," features a few characters who really should have just taken their little bribes and minded their own business. Especially if they didn't want to join the growing list of people taken over by robot flies.

We open in Mexico, where we find our old friend from Maeve's (Thandiwe Newton) brothel, Clementine (Angela Sarafyen), in hiding. William (Ed Harris), the Man in Black (or is he the Host in Black?), has found her and demands to know where Maeve is, but she claims she doesn't know. He shoots her, and before he slits her throat, she tells him that even if she knew where to find Maeve, she'd see him "in hell" before she told him.

Maeve, it turns out, is on the road with Caleb (Aaron Paul), headed to the palatial California estate of Senator Ken Whitney (Jack Coleman), and his wife, Anastasia (Saffron Burrows). It's quickly revealed that both Mr. and Mrs. Whitney are actually hosts. Maeve and Caleb fight the imposters, and she discovers her wi-fi telepathy powers aren't as effective on these newer models. "It appears William has upgraded his henchmen," she tells Caleb.

She scans the memories of the Host Senator and discovers that William and Charlotte (Tessa Thompson) were behind the robotic replacements. They killed the real Senator Whitney for refusing to play ball with Delos, but kept Anastasia alive for a mysterious experiment Charlotte is running.

They search the grounds and find Anastasia in a stable full of dead horses, surrounded by flies, in a fugue state. When Caleb addresses her by name, she seems to receive a signal only she can hear, then tells them they're invited to "opening night." An old friend is anxious for a reunion. "Don Giovanni." Maeve kills her as an act of mercy.

At Delos, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Counterterrorism Jim Navarro (Josh Randall) — try saying that title three times fast — arrives on behalf of the Justice Department, and is greeted by a new, reprogrammed version of Clementine. He demands to speak with William, but she refuses to let him pass without an appointment.

Christina/Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) keeps replaying the events of Peter's (Aaron Stanford) attack from the premiere. His words about "the tower" — and how she ruined his life — haunt her. Maya (Ariana DeBose) reads Peter's obituary aloud to prove his life was already ruined, and informs Christina that Hope Center for Mental Health was his "charity of choice." A startled Christina recognizes writing something like this once, and rushes off to work. It's very convenient that Maya had this obit already pulled up on her phone. Could she be a host NPC designed to manipulate Christina into solving another maze like the one in the park?

As Christina walks to work, an unhoused man — making sketches in charcoal— yells there is a "song with no sound" coming from the tower and it's "killing them." She asks about the tower and he shouts that "no one can hear its music but me. Me and the birds." When she gets to Olympiad Entertainment, she finds dead birds on the ground outside the building. Frightened, she chooses not to go inside. Look, I get it. I've called out of work for much less.

William and Clementine receive a visit from the Vice President (José Zúñiga), along with two secret service agents, on a private golf course. William sinks every shot he makes in one stroke, lending more credence to the idea that he is a host. The Veep came sans entourage because this is a "friendly" conversation about the "mess out West." Apparently William is up to something that is making a lot of people nervous. When William pushes back, the Veep threatens to crush him. In a surprise to no one except Mr. Vice President and his secret service detail, things take a turn for the worse. Clementine dispatches the agents, and William takes a swing at the V.P. with his golf club before we cut to black. It seems safe to assume he didn't miss that shot either.

Maeve and Caleb arrive at the Angeles Arts Pavilion, dressed to the nines, for a performance of Mozart's Don Giovanni, funded by… you guessed it… Delos. Before he and Maeve head into this obvious trap, he shares their coordinates with his associate, Carver (Manny Montana), who is keeping watch over Caleb's family.

They enter the auditorium and find it empty — except for a phonograph playing the opera. (Sidebar: is this the same auditorium from the opening of Christopher Nolan's Tenet? Was there a Nolan brothers discount?) Maeve moves the needle from the record and the floor lowers them beneath the stage where they are greeted by a large "Welcome" sign and a door. It leads to a 1920s, Great Gatsby-esque speakeasy. (Oh look, it's Liza Weil!) They grab drinks at the bar, where they vaguely discuss what happened since they last saw each other at "the lighthouse." Did these two hook up in the seven years between season 3 and season 4? It feels like there's a history deeper than just the "war." If so, I'm proposing the couple name Maeleb. Before the conversation can go much further, the room begins to shake. Maeve, distressed, says "I should've known… When I finally set foot back on solid ground, all I found was the same old s—." Cue the strings of the Westworld theme as we see the bar is part of a train leaving Los Angeles.

Jim Navarro — with the extremely long job title — walks to his car in a dark, underground parking structure. Nothing good ever happens in one of these. He screams into his phone, ticked off that the Veep seems to have changed position regarding the national security threat posed by Delos. "So who the f— is pulling the strings?" He won't have to wait long for the answer. Or the string.

He gets into his car and is zip-tied around the throat by Clementine. "We have time for you now, Mr. Navarro," she says, before exiting the vehicle and leaving him alone with Charlotte. She tells him the hosts don't plan to replace all of them. She has plans for his kind. She exits the car as a fly crawls into his eye. EWW. Not looking forward to more of this as the season goes on.

Christina heads to the Hope Center for Mental Health, and in the rideshare there, she learns she did in fact write a character named Peter Myers whose story matches the Peter who died by suicide. In addition, Olympiad Entertainment is tracking her movements.

She arrives at the center and finds it's no longer operational, and in a twist, Peter already has a wing dedicated to him despite having just died. Panicked, she calls Maya, who assures her she isn't insane and tells her to trust herself. Hmmm. Maya, who was dressed in white earlier in the episode, is now dressed in black. Just saying. At any rate, Christina stumbles upon a room where a series of crude drawings of towers are taped to the wall — drawings like the one the unhoused man drew earlier.

Back on the train, Maeve and Caleb are greeted by a host named Sophia (Lili Simmons) — the same host who played the "new" Clementine in the brothel way back in season 1. Maeleb (I'm going to make this happen) prepares to embark on whatever adventure Delos has in store for them, declining to choose either a white or black hat.

In a bright, Apple store-like basement, Charlotte opens a pod and reveals she has been keeping the real William alive in stasis all these years. He used to say winning doesn't mean anything unless there is a loser. She tells him he's just there to be the loser. She's going to control his world just as he and his associates did to her and her kind. After bringing him face to face with the now confirmed Host in Black, she puts him back into a deep and dreamless sleep. How can I get some of that?

On a dark rooftop, the Host in Black speaks to a crowd that includes what can be assumed is a host Vice President. He pulls a lever and lights up Delos's new park — "The Golden Age." Their newest fantasy land leaps to life as Maeleb walk into the roaring twenties. Once again, another Michael Crichton adaptation finds its way back into the park.

Ted Lasso S1 Ep 1

from Ready Steady Cut: https://readysteadycut.com/2020/08/14/recap-ted-lasso-season-1-episode-1-pilot-apple-tv-plus-series/

by Daniel Hart

The opening of Ted Lasso season 1, episode 1

New owner Rebecca Welton is at a football club putting some items up for auction. She invites the manager George into the office and fires him instantly for his misogynistic behaviour and poor team performances — she calls him a fat tw*t. On the way out, George mocks Rebecca for her divorce. What an opener — we know what we have in store now.

The new manager

We are then introduced to Ted Lasso who has become the new manager of Rebecca’s football club AFC Richmond — he’s from America and his profession usually involves managing American football not European football. Ted is doubting himself a little bit for taking on this challenge. When he arrives he is shown Tower Bridge and is amazed by it.
Ted Lasso season 1, episode 2 recap – what happened in “Biscuits”

Welcome to AFC Richmond

Ted Lasso and Coach Beard arrive at the stadium and he touches the grass which panics the kitman Nate. It’s noticeable straight away that Ted feels out of place for being America. They finally meet Rebecca and have an introductory meeting. She gives Ted a tour of the stadium and he asks her if she’s okay about the divorce. Probably not the best question to ask your boss in the first meeting.

The press conference

Ted is soon swept to a press conference unbeknown to him. He addresses the elephant in the room that he’s never coached football. It’s a hilarious scene as he doesn’t understand the usual lingo and terminology for football. Trent Crimm, a sports journalist, asks why he’s managing a Premier football club and wonders if this is a f*cking joke. The press conference turns into absolute chaos. Rebecca Welton walks in and calms the press down, stating the club has been under profound mediocrity. She calls the new way “The Lasso Way”.

An early twist

We are then shown the real intentions of Rebecca in Ted Lasso season 1, episode 1.

When Ted Lasso leaves the press conference that Rebecca reveals that she intends to burn the club to the ground and wants it to fail to get revenge on her husband who used to own it. She tells the Communication Director (Higgins) that he will be the new Football Director. He’s in on the burndown. A strange plot for a funny comedy so far.

A quick ending to a speech

Ted and Beard introduce themselves to the players. Suddenly, one of the footballer’s partners (Keeley) comes in which ends his speech early somewhat. He invites Roy into the office and compliments him — Roy thanks Ted and calls him Coach Ronald F*cking McDonald and walks out. Ted is all about optimism though, telling Beard he’s going to win Roy over.

The ending of Ted Lasso season 1, episode 1

Ted enters the changing room and covers a pair of breasts on one of the lockers. Keeley returns to the changing room and gives him advice to change elements of the changing room. Keeley tells Ted to avoid #Richmond on Twitter. Presumably, there are not nice tweets about him.

Ted returns to his hotel room and rings his family back at home. It’s evident that he’s having marital problems with his wife Michelle as they talk about giving each other space.

The premiere of Ted Lasso is genuinely funny and gives a promising premise.

Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)

from the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/07/movies/thor-love-and-thunder-review.html


By Manohla Dargis
Published July 7, 2022Updated July 15, 2022

Every so often in “Thor: Love and Thunder,” the 92nd Marvel movie to hit theaters this year (OK, the third), the studio machinery hits pause, and the picture opens a portal to another dimension: Its star, Chris Hemsworth, embraces wholesale self-parody, a pair of giant screaming goats gallop along a rainbow highway and Russell Crowe flounces around in a flirty skirt and Shirley Temple curls. As the movie briefly slips into a parallel realm of play and pleasure, you can feel the director Taika Waititi having a good time — and it’s infectious.

This is the fourth “Thor” movie in 11 years and the second that Waititi has directed, following “Thor: Ragnarok” (2017). That movie was all over the place, but it was funny (enough) and had a lightness that proved liberating for the series and Hemsworth. “Love and Thunder” is sillier than any of its predecessors, and thinner. A lot happens in overstuffed Marvel Studios fashion. But because the series has jettisoned many of its earlier components — its Shakespearean pretensions, meddlesome relatives and, crucially, Thor’s godly grandeur — the new movie more or less plays like a rescue mission with jokes, tears and smackdowns.

It starts with a pasty, near-unrecognizable Christian Bale, who, having been relieved of his DC Dark Knight duties, has signed up with Marvel as a villain with the spoiler name of Gorr the God Butcher. Waititi quickly sketches in Gorr’s background, giving it a tragic cast. Believing himself betrayed by the god he once worshiped, Gorr is committed to destroying other deities. It’s potentially rich storytelling terrain, particularly given Thor’s stature and Marvel’s role as a contemporary mythmaker. But while Bale takes the role by the throat, as is his habit, investing the character with frictional intensity, Gorr proves disappointingly dull.

For the most part, Gorr simply gives Thor another chance to play the hero, which Hemsworth does with a stellar deadpan and appreciable suppleness. He’s always been fun to watch in the role and not just because, as the slavering camerawork likes to remind you, he looks awfully fine with or without clothes. Hemsworth knows how to move, which is surprising given his muscled bulk, and is at ease with his beauty. He’s also learned how to deploy — and puncture — Thor’s inborn pomposity, although by the time the final credits rolled in “Ragnarok” that haughtiness had turned into shtick. Thor is still a god, but also he’s now a great big goof.

To that end, Thor enters midfight on a battlefield washed in grayish red light, preening and posing and showboating alongside characters from Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy.” With Guardians (Chris Pratt, the raccoon voiced by Bradley Cooper, etc.) on backup, Thor vanquishes the enemy with his customary hyperbole — he strikes the ground, reaches for the heavens, flips his hair — and a new hammer the size of a backhoe shovel. He also destroys a temple that looks right out of an airport gift shop. This synergistic foreplay isn’t pretty, and neither is the rest of the movie, but it announces Waititi’s sensibilities, his irreverence and taste for kitsch.

From the start, the “Thor” series has pushed and pulled at its title character, by turns enshrining and undercutting his supernatural identity, raising him up only to bring him crashing back down to Earth. The movies have, almost to a fault, emphasized Thor’s frailties: He has daddy issues, a sibling rivalry and romantic woes. Gods, they’re just like us! Thor’s love life humanized him for good and bad, though his romance with an astrophysicist — Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster — worked best as ballast for the he-man action. Jane wasn’t interesting, despite Portman’s febrile smiles, but, after sitting out the last movie, she’s back.

Why the encore? Well, mostly because Waititi, who wrote the script with Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, doesn’t seem to know what else he can do with Thor. By the end of “Ragnarok,” the character had been repeatedly cut down to size. He’d squabbled with his brother and wittiest foil (Tom Hiddleston as Loki). His long hair was chopped off and his kingdom annihilated, and gone too were the heavyweights who had helped fill the story’s holes with their magnetism and personality. Anthony Hopkins (Thor’s dad) exited, as did Cate Blanchett (sis). Thor fought, loved and lost, and then he packed on the pounds and went to hang with the Avengers.

“Love and Thunder” revs up the “Thor” franchise again with the usual quips and beats, programmatically timed blowouts, brand-extending details, a kidnapping and a welcome if underused Tessa Thompson. Her Valkyrie, alas, receives less screen time than Jane, who’s given a crisis as well as special powers, a blond blowout and muscles that inflate and deflate like party balloons. Jane’s new talents don’t do much for the story and read as a dutiful nod to women’s empowerment (thanks). Portman does what she can, yet she’s so tightly wound that she never syncs up with the loosey-goosey rhythms the way Thompson and Hemsworth do.

Waititi’s playfulness buoys “Love and Thunder,” but the insistence on Thor’s likability, his decency and dude-ness, has become a creative dead end. The movie has its attractions, notably Hemsworth, Thompson and Crowe, whose Zeus vamps through a sequence with a butt-naked Thor and fainting minions. It’s a delightful and cheerfully vulgar interlude, and critically, it reminds you of the sheer otherworldliness of these beings who — with their vanities, cruelties, deeds, mysteries and powers — turn reality into myth and stories into dreams. Like movie stars, gods aren’t like us, which of course is one reason we invented them.

Champions (2020) #6-10: Killer App

Champions (2020) #6

""KILLER APP"" STARTS HERE! The Champions tried fighting fair. Now it's time to fight dirty. A sinister corporation is cheating the system to try to keep Kamala's Law on the books, so the Champions infiltrate the company to take it down from the inside. But the company's wildly popular app is already turning public perception against teen super heroes. Can the Champions wage war on a trend? And how dirty will their hands get before it's over? Danny Lore (CAPTAIN AMERICA: KING IN BLACK, IRONHEART 2020) and Luciano Vecchio (IRONHEART) take the reins of a daring new era of Champions!

Champions (2020) #7

THE KAMALA CON! The Champions are playing dirty to beat Roxxon at their own game - including implanting two of their own as interns to take down the corporation from within. But in order to earn the trust of their cutthroat Roxxon supervisors, they'll have to deliver an unwilling spokesperson: Kamala Khan. Will Ms. Marvel agree to become the face of a company and a law that she hates, or is it too high a price to pay for victory?

Champions (2020) #8

A protest against Kamala’s Law goes south when Roxxon uses its app to lure the crowd into a trap. Can the Champions save the protestors without exposing the Champions’ moles within Roxxon? And can they figure out Roxxon’s true endgame in time to stop it, or is it already too late?

Champions (2020) #9

The Champions’ commitment to destroying Roxxon from within faces its ultimate test, as Kamala is asked to speak for the company in front of a global audience. How far will Ms. Marvel go to destroy the corporation that almost ruined her life? And what will it cost the rest of the Champions?

Champions (2020) #10

THE FINALE OF KILLER APP! The Champions win a major victory over Roxxon-only to discover a much deadlier threat waiting in the wings! Can they win against vicious machines engineered to predict their every move? Or is it the end of the line for our young heroes?